The Queens Masonic District Asks Community to “Roll-Up” Sleeves and Donate Blood

Queens Masonic District is hosting a blood drive with New York Blood Center (NYBC) on Saturday, December 17, 2016 from 8:45am –2:45pm at the Advance Temple, 21-14 30th Avenue, Long Island City, NY

The entire process takes less than an hour, and a single donation can be used to save multiple lives. Donors with O-negative blood type, or “universal donors,” are encouraged to attend, as their blood can be transfused into anyone in a trauma situation.

Nearly 2,000 donations are needed each day in New York and New Jersey alone. About one in seven hospital admissions requires a blood transfusion. With a limited shelf life, supplies must be continually replenished.

If you cannot donate but still wish to participate in bringing crucial blood products to patients in need, please ask someone to donate for you, or consider volunteering at a local blood drive.

New York Blood Center (NYBC) offers scholarships for high school and college students who initiate and coordinate successful community blood drives. High schools willing to host two blood drives per school year will receive a $250 scholarship for one student, or two scholarships at $250 each if three blood drives are held. Students who independently organize and introduce a new blood drive within their community may earn a $250 scholarship if the drive yields at least 30 blood donations and $500 if that blood drive yields 50 or more blood donations. All scholarships are made payable to the student’s choice of college.

To donate blood or for information on how to organize a blood drive,Please call Toll Free: 1-800-933-2566
Visit: www.nybc.org

If you cannot donate but still wish to participate in bringing crucial blood products to patients in need, please ask someone to donate for you, or consider volunteering at a local blood drive.

Any company, community organization, place of worship, or individual may host a blood drive. NYBC also offers special community service scholarships for students who organize community blood drives during summer and winter months. Blood donors receive free mini-medical exams on site including information about their temperature, blood pressure and hematocrit level. Eligible donors include those people at least age 16 (with parental permission or consent), who weigh a minimum of 110 pounds, are in good health and meet all Food & Drug Administration and NY or NJ State Department of Health donor criteria. People over 75 may donate with a doctor’s note.

About New York Blood Center

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, New York Blood Center (NYBC) is one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the country. Each year, NYBC provides approximately one million blood products to nearly 200 hospitals in the Northeast. NYBC also provides a wide array of transfusion-related medical services. NYBC is also home to the world’s largest public cord blood bank, which provides stem cells for transplant in many countries, and a renowned research institute, which – among other milestones — developed the Hepatitis B vaccine and innovative blood purification technology. Website: www.nybc.org